Device for pressing air into inflatable articles

ABSTRACT

A device for pressing air into inflatable articles with the aid of one larger and one smaller air container and a valve housing connected therebetween, said valve housing communicating with the article to be inflated. The valve housing is provided with two non-return valves opening up only in the direction towards the valve housing outlet to the article to be inflated, the first one of said valves being arranged at a point between the valve housing inlet opening towards the larger container and the valve housing opening towards the smaller container and the second valve being positioned at a point between said valve housing opening towards the smaller air container and the outlet towards the article to be inflated.

United States Patent 11 1 Andreasson 1111 3,845,795 14 1 Nov. 5, 1974DEVICE FOR PRESSING AIR INTO INFLATABLE ARTICLES [76] Inventor: IBrorElis Andreasson, Bangatan 21,

5462 00 Vanersborg, Sweden [22] Filed: Nov. 8, 1972 [21] Appl. No:304,655

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 23, 1971 Sweden 14962/71Oct. 17, 1972 Sweden l3349/72 [52] 11.s.c1 ..141/313,141/10s,141/114,

[51] Int. Cl. B651) 3/14, B65b 3/16, B65b 3/17 [58] Field! 011 Search141/108, 109, 114, 387, l4l/388, 389, 391, 392, 313

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,423,890 7/1947 Hurt141/313 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 222,118 8/1968 Sweden ..14l/ll4Primary ExaminerLouis R. Prince Assistant Examiner-Steven L. StephanAttorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E. Burns; Emmanuel J. Lobato; Bruce L;Adans [5 7] ABSTRACT A device for pressing air into inflatable articleswith the aid of one larger and one smaller air container and a valvehousing connected therebetween, said valve housing communicating withthe aiiic'i'ta be inflated.

The valve housing is provided with two non-return valves opening up onlyin the direction towards the valve housing outlet to the article to beinflated, the first one of said valves being arranged at a point betweenthe valve housing inlet opening towards the larger container and thevalve housing opening towards the smaller container and the second valvebeing positioned at a point between said valve housing opening towardsthe smaller air container and the outlet towards the article to beinflated.

114 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDNUY 519m 3.845795 MEI 10$ 4 I IPATENTEDR 5 m 2 3.845795 SHEEI 30F 4 Fig. 6

YIZT 24 71 27 24 Fig.6 6

Hg. 7 a

Fig.8 8\

DEVICE FOR PRESSING AIR INTO INFLATABLE ARTICLES BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The present invention concerns a device intended to press airinto inflatable articles such as air mattresses, rubber boats,inflatable furniture and similar objects, said device comprising onelarger and one smaller air container having resilient walls.

To inflate air mattresses and similar articles that hold comparativelysmall volumes of air a number of devices are already known. However,these devices are unsatisfactory when the article to be inflated islarger in size than a common air mattress. Various gas-holdingcontainers then may be used but the contents thereof are only sufficientfor a few inflating operations and a new container then must beprovided. Pressurized air containers are comparatively expensive and forthis reason this solution is not very attractive.

A device affording a good solution to the problem outlined aboveconsists of a bag trapping a sufficiently large volume of air whichvolume may be forced into one corner of the bag while compressing thebag. The bag corner forms a separate unit from the rest of the bagthrough a welded seam incorporating an air inlet opening and air isforced into the article to be inflated from this separate corner.Certain manipulations are required to prevent the air from flowing backinto the bag through the opening between the bag and the smaller aircontainer formed by the corner during the compression thereof and thisnecessity for manipulations sometimes gives rise to difficulties,particularly in case and elevated pressure is required in the inflatableobject in question.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The purpose of the present invention isto make it possible to inflate articles of the kind referred to in amore efficient and rapid manner. The invention is characterised by avalve housing connected between the larger air container and the smallerair container and having an outlet for the compressed air passingthrough the valve housing chamber, said valve housing being alsoprovided with a first valve mounted between the larger air container andthe valve chamber and with a second valve mounted between the valvechamber and the outlet, said valves both being non-return valves openingonly in the direction towards the outlet.

By means of a device in accordance with the invention it is possible tofill articles of various sizes, also those requiring a very large amountof air, in a short time and the desired positive pressure within thearticle in question is thereafter achieved in a simple and quick manner,making the article firm and steady.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A few embodiments of the inventionwill be described more in detail in the following with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein FIG. I is a plan view of a bagarrangement in accordance with the invention wherein both air containersare formed by one bag as described above.

FIG. 2 illustrates the manner in which the bag arrangement in accordancewith the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is filledwith air,

FIG. 3 is a broken view of a second embodiment of the inventive object,wherein the smaller container is separate'and attached to the rest ofthe bag arrangement by means of a screw joint,

FIG. 4 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention according towhich the valve housing is provided on the smaller air container andconnectable to the larger air container, parts of which have been brokenaway in this figure,

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are longitudinal sections throught the valve housingincorporated in the inventive object, the valves being in positions forfilling an article directly from the larger air container, for fillingthe smaller air container from the larger one, and for filling thearticle from the smaller air container, respectively,

FIG. 8 is a transverse section through the valve housing along lineVIII-VIII of FIG. 5,

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section through the valve housing and a part ofthe two air containers in accordance with still another embodiment,

FIG. 10 is a side view of the valve housing incorporated in theinventive object in accordance with still another embodiment, and

FIG. 11 illustrates in a perspective view a nipple incorporated in thevalve housing of FIGS. 9 and 10.

7 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises in accordance with the inventiona bag 1 made from e.g. plastic-coated cloth, one corner 2 of whichhaving been separated from the remaining area of the bag by means of awelded seam 3. Through the welded seam 3 and an edge 4 of the bag 1adjacent the welded seam extends valve means including a valve housing 5which communicates through an air inlet opening 6 with the interior ofthe bag and is provided with an outlet 7 at the outer face of the bag.The valve housing 5 communicates through an opening 8 with the interiorof the separate corner 2. A first fllap valve 10 is positioned betweenthe inlet opening 6 and the chamber 9 of the valve housing 5, said flapvalve opening up in the direction towards the valve chamber 9. A secondflap valve 11 is positioned between the valve chamber 9 and the outlet7, said valve 11 opening up in the direction towards the outlet. A hose12 is connectable to the outlet 7 and provided at its outer end with anozzle 13. The opening 8 debouches directly into the valve chamber Tofill an inflatable article with air, the bag is at first filled in themanner illustrated in FIG. 2, i.e. the bag is opened and swung in asweeping motion with the bag opening facing forwards. Both hands arethen used to gather the mouth portion of the bag and wring it to makethe bag air tight. If the article to be filled is empty from the startit is easy to blow the air straight through the valve housing, past thevalves I0, 11 and via outlet 7, hose 12 and nozzle 13 into the articleby simply squeezing the bag slightly. When the article has been filledsufficiently to make further filling thereof in this manner difficult toperform on account of the counterpressure in the article to be filled,use is made of the smaller air container, formed by the separate bagcorner 2. This container naturally has also been filled with airentering from the larger air container during the filling thereof. It iseasier to compress the smaller air container than the larger one, and bynow squeezing the smaller air container, air is made to enter into thearticle to be filled, from the smaller container via valve 11, as thefirst valve acts as an obstacle preventing air from flowing back intothe larger container. When air is no longer introduced into the articleto be filled the second valve 11 locks as a result of the pressure builtup inside the article. The smaller container is again filled from thelarger one and the procedure described above is repeated a few timesuntil a sufficiently high pressure has been obtained.

As the smaller air container will often be exposed to more wear and tearthan the largerone, it is advantageous if the smaller one be replacedmaking it unnecessary to discard the entire device. Two embodimentsincorporating this advantageous feature are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and4, respectively, wherein the valve housing 5 is mounted on a larger aircontainer 14 and on a smaller container 15. The larger air containersare illustrated as partly broken away for more clarity of the figures.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 the smaller air container 15 isseparate and easily replaceable on account of the provision of aconnection nipple 16 having internal threads, said nipple being arrangedto be screwed onto a pipe socket 17 formed on the valve housing. Thepipe socket 17 opens into the valve chamber 9. The smaller container 15may be attached to the larger air container 14 by means of buttons or inany other way by means of attachment means 18 of known construction.

In accordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the valvehousing 5 is attached to the smaller air container 15, and the largerair container 14 may be attached to the housing by means of a nipple l9fitting a pipe socket 20 on the valve housing 5.

As appears from the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8 avalve housing 5 incorporated in the inventive object comprises twohalves 21, 22 assembled for instance by means of glueing. For guidanceof the two halves relative to one another during assembly and glueing.the halves are provided with guide pins 23 and mating holes 24. At oneend the valve housing 5 is formed with a tubular outlet 7 and at isopposite end it is provided with the =inlet opening 6 for admittance ofair from the larger air container. Approximately at the centre of thevalve housing 5 is positioned the second opening 8 debouching into thesmaller container. Adjacent the inlet opening 6 is arranged the firstflap valve 10 and the second flap valve 11 is arranged adjacent theoutlet 7. Each valve consists of a thin, essentially rectangular plate25 of plastics presenting at two neighbouring corners coaxial pins 26mounted in corresponding openings in the valve chamber wall such thatthe plates may be swung towards and away from their valve seats 27. Theplates 25 are provided on their top surfaces with a distance shoulder 28preventing them from abutting flatly against the wall of the valvechamber. In this manner is ensured that the plates adapt themselvesreadily to the air flows through the valve housing and also that thevalves function extremely well. The valve housing may, as indicated bydash anddot lines in FIG. 8, be provided internally with supports 29 forthe plates 25, if the latter are thin and slack.

FIG. 5 shows the two valves 10, 11 in open position when the pressure inthe article to be filled with air is low and the article is filleddirectly from the larger container 1. In FIG. 6 is illustrated thepositions of the valves when the pressure inside the article exceeds thepressure of the larger air container, in which case the second flapvalve 11 is closed and the first valve 10 open to allow air to beadmitted into the smaller air container 2. FIG. 7 finally, illustratesthe positions of the valves when air from the smaller air container 2 isforced into the article. The first flap valve is in this instance closedon account of the pressure in the valve chamber 5 exceeding that in thelarger air container 1.

The embodiments of the two air containers illustrated in FIGS. 1 4 areimagined made from a plasticcoated cloth surrounding the valve housingwhich is manufactured from rigid plastics and attached to said housingby means of some adhesive. In practice it has, however, proved to bedifficult to make the joint between the wall of the air containers andthe valve housing sufficiently tight.

The purpose of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11 is to remedythis drawback.

In accordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 the valvehousing 5 is provided adjacent its outlet end 7 with a collar 30 and theoutlet end, which is tubular in shape, is provided with external screwthreads 31 and with a clamping nut 32 mating therewith. Inside the nut32 is provided a sealing washer 33 which together with the wall 34 ofthe larger air container 14 is clamped in air tight position against thecollar 30 by means of said nut 32. The outlet end 7 supports a hose 12,which is threaded or screwed onto said end.

The valve housing is in addition formed with a tube socket 17 havingscrew threads thereon, said tube socket passing through the wall 34 ofthe container. A sealing washer 35 is arranged inside said wall. Thetube socket debouches into the valve housing chamber between valves 10and 11. A nipple 36, preferably made from weldable plastics, is screwedonto the tube socket 17, said nipple presenting at its inner end a plate37 to which the wall 38 of the smaller air container 15 is attached, forinstance by means of a welded seam. Between the head 39 of the nippleand the container wall 34 is inserted a sealing washer 40 which isarranged, upon tightening of the nipple 36, to be forced together withthe container wall 34 against the sealing washer 35, whereby anair-tight joint is formed.

In accordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10 the inlet end 6of the valve housing 5 is formed as a pipe joint having internal screwthreads mating with the internal screw threads of a tubular nipple 41which is provided with a clamping nut 42 and a flange 43 positionedinside the container wall 34. The nut urges a washer 44, arrangedbetween said nut and the wall 34, into air-tight abutment against theflange 43. The nipple 36 of the smaller air container 15 has its head 39screwed onto a pipe socket 17 on the valve housing 5, said socketsupporting a sealing washer 45. Also the joint between the smallercontainer 15 and the valve housing 5 thus becomes air tight.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments as described andillustrated above but various modifications are possible within thescope of the appended claims.

The valves may be designed in a variety of ways without altering thefunction of the inventive article. The material forming the valve platesneed not be plastics.

Instead, the plates may be formed from for instance thin metal. Thevarious configurations of the air containers illustrated should beregarded as preferred embodiments only, not limiting the scope of theinvention. The geometrical configuration of the air containers likewiseis without essential importance. The material making up the aircontainers need not necessarily be plastics but some other air-tightmaterial may be used, for instance waxed cloth. Possibly the smaller aircontainer may be provided with spring means tending to keep thecontainer in expanded condition to enable it to be automaticallyv filledwith air.

What I claim is:

1. An improved device for pressing air into inflatable articles, saiddevice comprising a larger air container having resilient walls andmeans defining an opening therein receptive of air for filling same; anda smaller air container having resilient walls and compressible duringuse to discharge air therefrom, a valve housing connected to said largerair container and said smaller air container means defining a chamber insaid valve housing for passage therethrough of pressurized air, meansdefining an outlet port in said valve housing for said pressurized air,a first valve in said valve housing positioned between the larger aircontainer and said valve chamber, and a second valve in said valvehousing positioned between said valve chamber and said outlet port, bothsaid valves being non-return valves opening only in the directiontowards said outlet and said smaller air container being connected tosaid chamber between said valves.

2. An improved device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said valve housingis permanently attached to the wall of said larger air container,wherein the smaller air container is separate from said larger aircontainer, and further comprising connecting means being provided onsaid smaller air container and connecting means in said valve housingmating with said connecting means on said smaller air container.

3. An improved device as claimed in claim 2, further comprisingattachment means for releasably attaching said smaller air container tosaid larger air container.

4. An improved device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said valve housingis permanently attached to said smaller air container, and furthercomprising attachment means on said. larger air container and attachmentmeans on said valve housing mating with said attachment means on saidlarger air container.

5. An improved device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said larger aircontainer and said smaller air container comprises a bag of weldablematerial, a welded seam extending across one corner of said bag dividingthe interior volume of said bag into one larger portion forming saidlarger air container and one smaller portion forming said smaller aircontainer, and means defining openings in said welded seam between saidlarger air container and said smaller air container and in the outeredge of said smaller air container to receive therein said valve housingin a sealed position.

6. An improved device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said valve housingcomprises two half sections joined together.

7. An improved device as claimed in claim 6, further comprising guidemeans provided on said two valve housing halves, said guide meansdisposed on the edges 6 of the housing and consisting of guiding pinsand means defining mating apertures receptive of said pins.

8. An improved device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising meansconnecting said valve housing to samd small air container comprising atubular nipple, made from weldable plastics, on said smaller aircontainer, a plate formed at one end of said nipple to attach thesmaller container wall to said nipple, means defining a threaded boreformed at the opposite end of said nipple, a tube socket formed on saidvalve housing at a point between said two valves, said threaded boreenabling said container to be removably attached to said tube socket.

9. An improved device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said tube socketpenetrates into the larger air container wall and is sealed off againstthe wall of the larger air container.

10. An improved device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising meansconnecting said larger air container to said valve housing comprising apipe socket at the inlet end of said valve housing, a tubular nipple onsaid larger air container, said nipple extending through the wall ofsaid larger air container, a collar flange formed at one end of saidnipple and a pipe socket at the opposite end of said nipple, said pipesocket enabling said nipple to be attached to said larger air containerwall, whereby said valve housing is removably attachable to said socket.

11. An improved device according to claim 1, wherein both said valvescomprise non-return flap valves opening only in the direction towardssaid outlet port.

12. An improved device as claimed in claim 11, wherein said flap valvescomprise thin plates having rectangular configuration, valve seats insaid valve housing wherein said plates abut against said seats insealing positions, and means mounting the plates for pivotal movementcomprising two pins positioned at adjacent corners of said plate andmounted in the wall of said valve chamber.

13. An improved device as claimed in claim 12, further comprising meansfor preventing said plates from opening fully into flat abutmentpositions against the valve housing wall.

14. A device for forcing gases into inflatable articles comprising: afirst gas container comprising compressible resilient material andhaving means defining an opening therein receptive of gas during use forfilling said container; a second gas container substantially smaller involume than said first gas container comprising resilient material andcompressible during use to discharge gas therefrom; and valve means incommunication with said first and second gas containers and releasablycommunicable with an inflatable article during use for providing one-waygas communication from said first gas container to said second gascontainer an one-way gas communication from said second gas con tainerto the inflatable article; whereby gas discharged in communication withthe inflatable article, means deport and said valve chamber and a secondone-way fining a valve chamber between the inlet and outlet valvedisposed between said valve chamber and said ports and in communicationwith said second gas conoutlet port.

tainer, a first one-way valve disposed between said inlet

1. An improved device for pressing air into inflatable articles, saiddevice comprising a larger air container having resilient walls andmeans defining an opening therein receptive of air for filling same; anda smaller air container having resilient walls and compressible duringuse to discharge air therefrom, a valve housing connected to said largerair container and said smaller air container means defining a chamber insaid valve housing for passage therethrough of pressurized air, meansdefining an outlet port in said valve housing for said pressurized air,a first valve in said valve housing positioned between the larger airContainer and said valve chamber, and a second valve in said valvehousing positioned between said valve chamber and said outlet port, bothsaid valves being non-return valves opening only in the directiontowards said outlet and said smaller air container being connected tosaid chamber between said valves.
 2. An improved device as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said valve housing is permanently attached to the wallof said larger air container, wherein the smaller air container isseparate from said larger air container, and further comprisingconnecting means being provided on said smaller air container andconnecting means in said valve housing mating with said connecting meanson said smaller air container.
 3. An improved device as claimed in claim2, further comprising attachment means for releasably attaching saidsmaller air container to said larger air container.
 4. An improveddevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein said valve housing is permanentlyattached to said smaller air container, and further comprisingattachment means on said larger air container and attachment means onsaid valve housing mating with said attachment means on said larger aircontainer.
 5. An improved device as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidlarger air container and said smaller air container comprises a bag ofweldable material, a welded seam extending across one corner of said bagdividing the interior volume of said bag into one larger portion formingsaid larger air container and one smaller portion forming said smallerair container, and means defining openings in said welded seam betweensaid larger air container and said smaller air container and in theouter edge of said smaller air container to receive therein said valvehousing in a sealed position.
 6. An improved device as claimed in claim1, wherein said valve housing comprises two half sections joinedtogether.
 7. An improved device as claimed in claim 6, furthercomprising guide means provided on said two valve housing halves, saidguide means disposed on the edges of the housing and consisting ofguiding pins and means defining mating apertures receptive of said pins.8. An improved device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising meansconnecting said valve housing to samd small air container comprising atubular nipple, made from weldable plastics, on said smaller aircontainer, a plate formed at one end of said nipple to attach thesmaller container wall to said nipple, means defining a threaded boreformed at the opposite end of said nipple, a tube socket formed on saidvalve housing at a point between said two valves, said threaded boreenabling said container to be removably attached to said tube socket. 9.An improved device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said tube socketpenetrates into the larger air container wall and is sealed off againstthe wall of the larger air container.
 10. An improved device as claimedin claim 1, further comprising means connecting said larger aircontainer to said valve housing comprising a pipe socket at the inletend of said valve housing, a tubular nipple on said larger aircontainer, said nipple extending through the wall of said larger aircontainer, a collar flange formed at one end of said nipple and a pipesocket at the opposite end of said nipple, said pipe socket enablingsaid nipple to be attached to said larger air container wall, wherebysaid valve housing is removably attachable to said socket.
 11. Animproved device according to claim 1, wherein both said valves comprisenon-return flap valves opening only in the direction towards said outletport.
 12. An improved device as claimed in claim 11, wherein said flapvalves comprise thin plates having rectangular configuration, valveseats in said valve housing wherein said plates abut against said seatsin sealing positions, and means mounting the plates for pivotal movementcomprising two pins positioned at adjacent corners of said plate andmounted in the wall of said valve chamber.
 13. An improved device asclaimed in claim 12, further comprising means for preventing said platesfrom opening fully into flat abutment positions against the valvehousing wall.
 14. A device for forcing gases into inflatable articlescomprising: a first gas container comprising compressible resilientmaterial and having means defining an opening therein receptive of gasduring use for filling said container; a second gas containersubstantially smaller in volume than said first gas container comprisingresilient material and compressible during use to discharge gastherefrom; and valve means in communication with said first and secondgas containers and releasably communicable with an inflatable articleduring use for providing one-way gas communication from said first gascontainer to said second gas container and one-way gas communicationfrom said second gas container to the inflatable article; whereby gasdischarged from said second gas container through said valve means intothe inflatable article after compression thereof is replaced from thesupply of gas in said first gas container through said valve means as aresult of said first container being compressed, thus causing a pressuredifference between said first and second gas containers and wherein saidvalve means comprises a valve housing, means defining an inlet port incommunication with said first gas container and an outlet port incommunication with the inflatable article, means defining a valvechamber between the inlet and outlet ports and in communication withsaid second gas container, a first one-way valve disposed between saidinlet port and said valve chamber and a second one-way valve disposedbetween said valve chamber and said outlet port.